You don't have to be a pro to make a career out of surfing

By ALICE SHOPLAND

Luke Harwood - in second place on the New Zealand Pro Surf circuit - has spent the last few years being paid to surf.

Between 18 and 20, he was on the Australian Pro Surfer Junior circuit full-time.

"After a while I decided that competing all the time wasn't that great for me personally or for Rusty, the main company sponsoring me," says Harwood.

"So I suggested to them that they keep paying me the same money, but instead of competing all the time I promote them in the New Zealand surf magazines."

Rusty, one of the world's three top-selling surf gear labels, went for the idea.

So Harwood's next couple of years were spent being photographed freesurfing - as opposed to competition surfing - all over New Zealand and in various exotic locations, then being interviewed or writing the articles himself.

Harwood grew up in Whangamata - whose beach is still his favourite surf spot - in a surfing family, and has been at it since he was seven.

Keen surfers reading this might find it hard to believe, but surfing full-time can get a bit, well, tedious.

"It was a great lifestyle while I was young," says 22-year-old Harwood, "but it does get a bit boring, and now I'm looking for something a bit different."

One of the things he's looking for is more secure finances: the pay's not great for a pro surfer, he says, and managing your finances can be the hardest part of the lifestyle.

So he's just started a new job, doing sales and marketing for Rusty and for surf-skate-snowboard eyewear company Electric.

There's still lots of travel involved - mostly around New Zealand, visiting surf shops - plenty of opportunities to surf, and he doesn't have to wear a suit. Today's attire, of cords and long-sleeved t-shirt, is the norm at Rusty.

"It's a surfing company run by surfers," says Harwood, "so it's much more laid-back than your normal office."

If the surf's good then his colleagues are often at the beach at lunch time, and conferences are always held in surf spots like Fiji or Australia.

Julian Smith, marketing manager for Orca, the wetsuit company which is one of Harwood's sponsors, says Harwood epitomises the professional sporting attitude.

"Its very important to look beyond the four or five years you might be at the top of your sport," he says. "Luke has that long-term view and good business sense."

"It's important to start aligning yourself with the right sort of companies. You might not get much in the first few years, maybe just a bit of product, but if you do well and look after your sponsors, it can be a long-term relationship."

Smith says he receives an average of 30 emailed sponsorship requests a day, mostly from triathletes, Orca's main focus.

Harwood's casting his eyes further, working on a learn-to-surf video, and on wetsuit design refinements with Orca.

He maintains his own website, www.lukeharwood.com (loves: new boards, good wax jobs along with good sticker placements, girls, family, God).

Surf fashion is popular now, says Harwood, "even with people who've never surfed", so the gear creates a competitive market.

"People really like the idea of the freedom of surfing, and the individuality, and they want to be associated with that," he says.

Luke Williamson, a surf-mad Takapuna graphic designer who wrote the New Zealand surfing history Gone Surfing, laughs at the mention of surf-related careers.

"That's been the surfer's dilemma over many years - how to make a living without giving up surfing."

But then he composed himself and rattled off a list of possible options for surfers who want their work to reflect their sporting passion, but won't make the grade on the professional circuit.

The most common, he says, is surfboard manufacture - "glassers" (fibreglass workers), sanders and shapers. "Board manufacturers often close down when the surf's good," he says, "so that's a bonus."

There are a surprising number of board manufacturers in New Zealand, partly due to the resurgence of the long board who has brought many older surfers out of retirement.

There are also career opportunities for very small numbers of people in the following areas, Williamson says:

* Wet suit manufacture.

* Writing and photography for the two local surf magazines.

* Teaching surf schools, especially on popular beaches over summer.

* Administration for Surfing New Zealand or surf competition organisers.

* Retail surfing shops.

* Designing surf-related web sites.

* Surf travel and surf camps like those in the Pacific Islands and around Indonesia.